Balloon choker device



p 25, 1962 R. E. SANDLIN, JR 3,055,616

' BALLOON CHOKER DEVICE Filed Oct. 16, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. Ray 4. .SA/VOL/M J p 1962 R. E SANDLIN, JR 3,055,616

BALLOON CHOKER DEVICE INVENTOR. Roy 7. .S'AA/DLIN JR- 3,055,616 BALLOON CHOKER DEVICE Roy E. Sandlin, Jr., P.(). Box 248, Raton, N. Mex. Filed Oct. 16, 1959, Ser. No. 847,026

3 Claims. (Cl. 244-31) (Granted under Title 35, US. Code (1952), see. 266

The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the United States Government for governmental purposes without payment to me of any royalty thereon.

This invention relates to devices for the safe launching of large plastic balloons of the non-extensible type now widely used in new fields of research in the upper regions of the atmosphere. The employment of polyethylene material, for example, has made possible the use of tremendous sized bags capable of lifting a considerable load and of reaching heights of 50,000 feet or more.

This is accomplished by filling only a small portion of the bag with gas, just enough to lift itself and the load of instruments 01f the ground. The excess material hangs downward in an appendix from the bubble of gas in the top until the balloon finally fills as the gas expands with the decrease in pressure as higher altitudes are reached.

The principle of non-extensible balloons is that they are not sealed cells but contain an opening, or duct, by which excess gasscan be expelled. The purpose of this duct is to enable the balloon tofill its volume at a ceiling altitude and expel any gas further expanded by the decrease in pressure as higher altitudes are reached without destruction of the balloon. This .enables the balloon to float at a constant pressure level after all the free lift gas has been expelled. By floating at this constant pressure level extensive scientific experiments can be conducted with equipment supported by the balloon.

The volume of gas admitted to the balloon on the surface of the earth is a small amount as compared to the total volume of the balloon and the lift of the gas is just sufficient to support the entire system, together with a small extra amount of free lift, which will be eventually expelled from the duct as the balloon reaches its ceiling. Since the volume of gas initially inserted is small the excess volume of the balloon is available in loosely draped material. During unfavorable wind conditions on the earths surface at the time of inflation, this excess material will form a sail which can cause destruction of the balloon itself or failure of the mooring, or tie down lines.

This invention consists .essentially of a choker, or clamp device, which is clamped over the loose material of the balloon just under the bubble portion which contains the initial volume of gas. It is provided with a release mechanism which opens the clamp so that it drops free after the balloon is safely launched.

It is an object of this invention, therefore, to provide a means for preventing the formation of sails on large plastic balloons.

It is a further object to provide such means in a simple, fool proof form, which is easily used and effective.

It is another object to provide a releasable clamp which is positive in action.

It is a still further object to provide such a device which is .easy and economical to manufacture of currently available materials that lend themselves to standard mass production manufacturing techniques.

The above and still other objects, advantages and features of my invention will become apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description of one embodiment thereof, especially when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a front view of my side;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side view of the invention showing the releasable means;

FIG. 4 is a pictorial sketch and FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing the details of the releasable closing means.

In the figures, 10 represents the jaws of a clamp 34 which comprises the main body of the device and are made of two pieces of plywood, or other light, rigid material forming a sandwich with a filling of protective padding 12 therebetween. The protective material 12 is foam rubber, rubberized hog hair or some such resilient material, which acts as a protection to the balloon material when it is squeezed between the jaws of the clamp and acts as a propulsive means to open the jaws of the clamp when the closure means is released. Two or more straps 14 of nylon webbing or similar flexible material are fastened to one end of the sandwich and act as strap hinges to hold the end of the clamp closed. At the strap hinge end is shown a recovery parachute 20 with standard releasable means packed against a resilient protective pad 18. The parachute floats the choker safely to earth when the clamp opens after the balloon has been safely launched. The opposite end of the clamp, the right hand end in the figures, is held closed by an outer closure member 22 which is made of any light, rigid material such as forms the jaws 10 of the clamp. An inner closure member 24, having protective resilient material 16 bonded thereto, is of the same material as 22 and has attached to it one or more simple disconnect fasteners 26, which pass through suitable clearance holes 25 in the outer closure member 22. The fasteners 26, as shown in FIG- URE 1, barely project beyond element 22 such that the biasing action of the resilient material between the jaws allows element 22 to be cammed to its open position. Pins 29 pass through the said fasteners and hold members 22 and 24 together until withdrawn by cords 27. The cords 27 are actuated by a rod 28 in housing 30 which may be operated by a cord manually controlled from the ground or by a spring release mechanism actuated by an aneroid device or other timing means contained in the housing 30. When the cords 27 are pulled down, the pins 29 are removed from the fasteners 26 and release the closwe members 22 and 24. The pressure from the resilient protective material 12 which is compressed by the jaws 10 to clamp the balloon material 36, as shown in FIG. 4, opens the clamp 34. The device then falls free and is recovered by the parachute 20. Any form of quick disconnect may be used, for example, cone eyelet type release, or an explosive or guillotine type mechanism for cutting a cord.

In FIG. 4 the device 34 is shown clamped below the bubble, which is the portion of the balloon 32 inflated by the initial volume of gas. The excess material of the balloon is shown as 36 and hangs as an appendix below the said bubble. Since there is no gas admitted to the lower part of the balloon, due to the choking action of the clamp, this excess material does not tend to form a sail during the inflation process, does not catch the wind, and enables a safe launching.

Actual tests on a balloon 128 feet in diameter, using a hand release actuated by a cord held on the ground and released at the time of release of the balloon, proved entirely successful. Tests with an aneroid release have proved equally successful.

In use the size of the portion of the balloon to be initially inflated is determined in advance and the device is invention showing one along the lines 22 showing the device in use;

then clamped around the material below this point. The inflation is accomplished through a tube 38, shown in FIG. 4, secured in the top portion of the balloon, and continued until the predetermined amount of gas has been inserted. When all is in readiness the clamp is released, if it is to be hand operated, and the mooring lines are cut and the balloon is launched. If the device is to be released by an aneroid mechanism it is merely necessary to have set the release mechanism for operation at the predetermined altitude before the inflation is begun. If a timing device is employed as the release mechanism it is merely necessary to set the time for the period of inflation plus the time it is desired to have the balloon aloft before the clamp is released. None of the devices for releasing the clamp are described or claimed since they are standard equipment used in releasing parachutes from balloons.

Although the invention has been described with reference to a particular embodiment in relation to balloon launching it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the invention is capable of a variety of alternative embodiments and uses within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. The combination of a non-extensible balloon to be partially filled with gas, a constriction device to confine the said gas to the top portion of said balloon comprising a pair of hinged jaws of a size to clamp around the material of said balloon, a layer of resilient material attached to the inside of each of said jaws to protect said balloon material, a releasable closing means to close the said jaws about the material of said balloon, and means to release the jaws of the said constrictive device after said balloon has been safely launched, said means for releasing said jaws comprising a cord attached to pins which releasably secure the jaws in a closed position.

2. The combination of a non-extensible balloon to be partially filled with gas, a constriction device to confine the said gas to the top portion of said balloon comprising a pair of hinged jaws of a size to clamp around the material of said balloon, a layer of resilient material attached to the inside of each of said jaws to protect said balloon material, a releasable closing means to close the said jaws about the material of said balloon, and means to release the jaws of the said constrictive device after said balloon has been safely launched, said means for releasing said jaws comprising a conventional aneroid releasing mechan1sm.

3. The combination of a non-extensible balloon to be partially filled with gas, a constriction device to confine the said gas to the top portion of said balloon comprising a pair of hinged jaws of a size to clamp around the material of said balloon, a layer of resilient material attached to the inside of each of said jaws to protect said balloon material, a releasable closing means to close the said jaws about the material of said balloon, and means to release the jaws of the said constrictive device after said balloon had been safely launched, said means for releasing the jaws comprising a conventional timing device releasing mechanism.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,459,735 Kraft June 26, 1923 2,525,608 Kuntz Oct. 10, 1950 2,539,816 Denlinger Jan. 30, 1951 2,662,261 Mikoski Dec. 15, 1953 2,756,948 Wingen et al. July 31, 1956 2,783,002 Ney et a1 Feb. 26, 1957 

